Spatial reuse of wi-fi channels with interference estimation and control

ABSTRACT

A transmitter/receiver pair may estimate a first channel interference caused during the spatial reuse phase by the transmitter/receiver pair to other transmitter/receiver pairs over a channel. A second channel interference experienced by the transmitter/receiver pair may be estimated during the spatial reuse phase by the transmitter/receiver pair from the other transmitter/receiver pairs. An interference margin may be estimated for the channel based on the first and second channel interferences. The interference margin may be announced to the other transmitter/receiver pairs in frame. The interference margin may then be complied with while communicating over the channel in order to control the interference.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/315,723, filed Jun. 26, 2014, which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to wireless networks. Some embodiments relate toWi-Fi channel spatial reuse. Some embodiments relate to High-EfficiencyWireless LAN or High Efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW) and the IEEE 802.11axstandard

BACKGROUND

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 is a setof standards for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN)communications. These standards provide the basis for wireless networkequipment approved and licensed as Wi-Fi equipment.

Wi-Fi networks typically use access points (AP) to wirelesslycommunicate with either mobile Wi-Fi-enabled devices (e.g., smartphones, computers, tablet computers). The APs may be connected to awired network giving the AP access to the Internet. The Wi-Fi-enableddevice may then access the Internet through communication over awireless channel with the AP.

Due to an increasing number of mobile users attempting to access theInternet, the quantity of Wi-Fi-enabled devices is increasing. APs andwireless channels may get overwhelmed by too many Wi-Fi enabled devices.

Thus there are general needs for increased efficiency in Wi-Fi channelusage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of an embodiment of a frame exchange duringa spatial reuse scheme.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of another embodiment of a frame exchangeduring a spatial reuse scheme.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a Wi-Fi system of transmit/receivepairs.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of an embodiment of a frame exchange inaccordance with the embodiment of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram of an embodiment of a Wi-Fi communicationsystem.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for channelinterference and control during spatial reuse of Wi-Fi channels.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practicethem. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical,process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodimentsmay be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalentsof those claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a frame exchange during a spatial reusescheme. This figure shows two transmit/receive pairs: TX1/RX1 andTX2/RX2. Spatial reuse is one technique to increase the efficiency ofthe Wi-Fi network. The idea is to increase the threshold of clearchannel assessment (CCA) such that a small interference may be toleratedand a spatial resource for transmission may be reused in an area.

For example, FIG. 1 shows that the first transmit/receive pair (e.g.,TX1/RX1) exchange some type of frames 101, 102 (e.g., request to send(RTS)/clear to send (CTS)) in order to open a spatial reuse phase. Aninterference margin for TX1 and RX1 is announced to make sure that theinterference from additional transmission complies with the interferencemargin. TX1 may transmit data 103 to RX1 during the network allocationvector (NAV) time 105. As is known in the art, the NAV may represent thetime that the sending station intends to hold the medium busy.

If a second transmitter (TX2) meets the interference conditions set bythe interference margin from TX1 and RX1, then TX2 may transmit data107, after an additional back-off time 120 (i.e., random choice oftransmit time slot by transmitting device), during the NAV time 105 setby TX1. RX1 may acknowledge receipt of TX1 data by transmitting an ACKframe 104 to TX1. Similarly, RX2 may acknowledge receipt of the TX2 databy transmitting an ACK frame 109 to TX2.

Spatial reuse may work for legacy Wi-Fi devices since the legacy devicesdo not transmit during the spatial reuse phase and their performance maynot be affected when other Wi-Fi devices raise the CCA threshold.However, spatial reuse may result in a number of problems, asillustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of another embodiment of frame exchangeduring a spatial reuse scheme. This figure shows three transmit/receivepairs: TX1/RX1, TX2/RX2, TX3/RX3. FIG. 2 shows that two transmitter TX2,TX3 are both transmitting data 201, 202, during the spatial reuse phase200. The TX1/RX1 pair may have set their modulation and coding schemesto compensate for a particular interference margin. However, with twotransmitter/receiver pairs transmitting within the spatial reuse phase200, the total interference experienced by RX1 may increase. The IEEE802.11 framework does not specify how to control the total interferenceto RX1 when there is more than one transmission in the spatial reusephase 200.

Other problems with a typical spatial reuse scheme may include that theIEEE 802.11 framework may not guarantee that the transmission from TX2to RX2 will be successful. Nor does the framework guarantee that theaggregate performance may increase.

As described subsequently in greater detail, the present embodimentsenable each transmit/receive pair exchange frames so that each pair maydetermine the interference caused by their transmissions on other pairs.Additionally, the interference caused by other pairs may be determinedfrom this frame exchange as well. The present embodiments may also set,announce, and comply with the interference margin of each transmissionsuch that the total interference for each transmission may be controlledif the margin is compiled with by neighboring transmit/receive pairs.

Also as described subsequently, the present embodiments may bothexplicitly and implicitly verify that a transmitter can know if itstransmission will be disrupted by an existing transmission. In theexplicit approach, the transmitter may request feedback from thereceiver before transmissions in order to know the current interference.In the implicit approach, the interference information may be gatheredduring a management frame exchange such that a transmitter can infer ifthe current interference will disrupt its transmission. In anotherembodiment, the interference margin may be set such that the aggregateperformance may improve.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a Wi-Fi system (e.g., IEEE802.11ax) of transmit/receive pairs 301-303. Each pair includestransmitter TX1, TX2, TX3 and a receiver RX1, RX2, RX3. The transmitterTX1-TX3 may be an AP or a station. Similarly, the receiver RX1-RX3 maybe a station or an AP. In a device-to-device scenario, both transmittersTX1-TX3 and the receivers RX1-RX3 may be stations. More detailed blockdiagrams of the APs and stations are shown and discussed subsequently.

A Wi-Fi transmission may be from a station-to-station, station-to-AP,AP-to-station, or AP-to-AP. Thus, a transmitter/receiver pair (e.g.,Wi-Fi device pair) may be a station paired with a station, a stationpaired with an AP, an AP paired with a station, or an AP paired with anAP.

In accordance with some IEEE 802.11ax (High-Efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW))embodiments, an AP may operate as a master station which may be arrangedto contend for a wireless medium (e.g., during a contention period) toreceive exclusive control of the medium for an HEW control period (i.e.,a transmission opportunity (TXOP)). The master station may transmit anHEW master-sync transmission at the beginning of the HEW control period.During the HEW control period, HEW stations may communicate with themaster station in accordance with a non-contention based multiple accesstechnique. This is unlike conventional Wi-Fi communications in whichdevices communicate in accordance with a contention-based communicationtechnique, rather than a multiple access technique. During the HEWcontrol period, the master station may communicate with HEW stationsusing one or more HEW frames. During the HEW control period, legacystations refrain from communicating. In some embodiments, themaster-sync transmission may be referred to as an HEW control andschedule transmission.

In some embodiments, the multiple-access technique used during the HEWcontrol period may be a scheduled orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA) technique, although this is not a requirement. In someembodiments, the multiple access technique may be a time-divisionmultiple access (TDMA) technique or a frequency division multiple access(FDMA) technique. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique maybe a space-division multiple access (SDMA) technique.

The master station may also communicate with legacy stations inaccordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. In someembodiments, the master station may also be configurable communicatewith HEW stations outside the HEW control period in accordance withlegacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques, although this is not arequirement.

In some embodiments, the links of an HEW frame may be configurable tohave the same bandwidth and the bandwidth may be one of 20 MHz, 40 MHz,or 80 MHz contiguous bandwidths or an 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) non-contiguousbandwidth. In some embodiments, a 320 MHz contiguous bandwidth may beused. In some embodiments, bandwidths of 5 MHz and/or 10 MHz may also beused. In these embodiments, each link of an HEW frame may be configuredfor transmitting a number of spatial streams.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of an embodiment of a frame exchange inaccordance with the embodiment of FIG. 3. Exchanged frames 401-406 maybe management frames that allow for the maintenance of communication.For example, the management frames may include RTS, CTS, polling,authentication, or beacon frames.

The interference created on the channel by each transmitter/receiverpair may be estimated. This may be accomplished by the transmittersTX1-TX3 monitoring transmissions on the channel between the othertransmitter/receiver pairs. This provides a first transmitter/receiverpair (e.g., TX1/RX1) with an estimate of the interference caused by thefirst transmitter/receiver pair to other transmitter/receiver pairs(e.g., TX2-TX3/RX2-RX3) on the channel. The following equation mayprovide this estimate:

Interference=P _(TX)(RX _(E) /P _(Rx))

where P_(TX) is the transmit power of the transmitter that transmittedto the paired receiver, RX_(E) is the energy received by the transmitterfrom the paired receiver, and P_(RX) is the transmit power of thereceiver paired with the transmitter. For example, when RX1 transmitsthe management frame 402, TX2 and TX3 may estimate the interference toRX1.

The interference on the channel caused from other transmitter/receiverpairs may also be estimated. In other words, when one TX transmits themanagement frame 401, 403, 405, other receivers RX may estimate theinterference from the transmitting TX by monitoring the received energy.For example, when TX1 transmits the management frame 401, RX2 and RX3may estimate the interference from TX1.

Once the channel interference has been estimated (i.e., both caused byeach transmitter/receiver pair as well as experienced by eachtransmitter/receiver pair), the interference margin may be set for thechannel, as described subsequently. The set interference margin may thenbe announced on the channel to the transmitter/receiver pairs. Such anannouncement may be explicit (e.g., a transmitter announces the setinterference margin) or implicit (e.g., the set interference margin isembedded in frames) as described subsequently.

Each transmitter of multiple transmitters may generate an interferencethat is less than an interference margin M. However, the totalinterference from all of the transmitters together may still be largerthan the interference margin M. This may be illustrated by reference toFIG. 5 with the following description.

Referring to FIG. 5, when a receiver 501 announces an interferencemargin M, it defines a protected region 505 around the receiver 501having that interference margin. If a transmitter 502 is within theregion 505, the total interference may be larger than M and thetransmitter 502 may not transmit in order to avoid exceeding theinterference margin M. Hence, the transmitter 502 may only transmitoutside the region 505 since its respective interference margin is alsoaround M However, for each transmitter 530-535 outside the first region505, an associated receiver 510-515 may also create a respective region520-525. Therefore, only a finite number of transmitters 530-535 may beused, each having an approximate interference margin M.

The remaining potential transmitter 550 is located a relatively longdistance from the first receiver 501. Since it is known that theinterference from closer transmitters 530-535 contribute to the majorportion of the interference to the first receiver 501, it is possible touse α*M to estimate the total interference. The value of α representsthe maximum quantity of transmissions on the channel (from thetransmitters 530-535) and will depend on each different scenario.

Based on the above, since M is the maximum interference allowed by areceiver for each transmission and α*M represents an estimate of thetotal interference for the channel, the maximum allowed interferencemargin for a receiver to transmitter may be represented as Max_M and theinterference margin M is set as M=Max_M/α, where α represents themaximum number of transmissions on the channel.

Once the interference margin M has been set for the channel, it may beannounced to the transmitter and receivers on the channel. This may beaccomplished by explicitly transmitting the set interference margin orimplicitly embedded in a frame to be transmitted.

The explicit transmission of the interference margin M may beaccomplished through a dedicated interference margin frame. In oneembodiment, the transmitter TX may announce the margin on the channel bytransmitting the interference margin frame. Other stations on thechannel may be monitoring the channel and receive the frame. This may beperformed during the spatial reuse phase as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Inanother embodiment, the transmitter TX may send a request to anassociated receiver RX and the receiver RX may reply with the dedicatedinterference margin frame. Other stations on the channel may again bemonitoring the channel and receive the frame.

The implicit transmission of the interference margin M may beaccomplished when a receiver RX exchanges frames with its associatedtransmitter TX. The interference margin may be embedded in one of theframes that have a purpose other than explicitly announcing theinterference margin.

Once the interference margin has been set and announced, as describedpreviously, it is up to the other transmitter/receiver pairs (e.g.,TX/RX) to comply with the set interference margin. This enables thetotal interference on the channel to be controlled. The totalinterference may be controlled using various embodiments including whenthe transmitter knows which transmitter/receiver pair has transmissionrights at the moment and when the transmitter does not know whichtransmitter/receiver pair has transmission rights.

When the transmitter knows which transmitter/receiver pair hastransmission rights, the interference control may be performed based onthe previous transmission, from that particular transmitter/receiverpair, of the interference margin. Thus, this embodiment relies on aknown transmitter/receiver pair that has already announced itsrespective interference margin.

However, if the transmitter (e.g., TX1) does not know which transmittersare transmitting, the interference margin may be determined by inferringwhich transmitter is presently transmitting. In this embodiment, TX1 mayproceed with its transmission. During frame exchange, TX1 may record ifthe interference it causes to the channel is less than the interferencemargin announced by other transmitter/receiver pairs. Also during frameexchange, TX1 may record the energy level of other transmitters (TXs)that, combined with the transmission of TX1, have a channel interferencehigher than the interference margin. During spatial reuse, TX1 may onlytransmit if the current energy level is not higher than the energy levelof any transmitter that TX1 records during the spatial reuse phase.

As an example of operation, reference is made to the system embodimentillustrated in FIG. 3. After a management frame exchange, TX1 is assumedto have the energy level information for the TX2/RX2 and TX3/RX3 pairs.

If the energy level of TX1 fits in the interference margin of theTX3/RX3 pair but not the interference margin of the TX2/RX2 pair, thenTX1 knows that, if the total channel energy level is above the energylevel of the TX2/RX2 pair, there is a chance that TX2 or RX2 aretransmitting. On the other hand, if the total channel energy level isbelow the energy level of the TX2/RX2 pair, then the TX2/RX2 pair is nottransmitting and TX1 may transmit and infer that it still fits withinthe interference margin of existing transmissions. In this way, TX1 mayproceed with its transmission and comply with the interference margin.

It has been previously shown how to transmit during a spatial reusephase while not disrupting other transmissions. It may now be shown howa transmitter knows that its transmission will be successful beforetransmitting any data. This may be accomplished using either an explicitapproach or an implicit approach.

Using the explicit approach, the transmitter may send a frame (e.g.,request) to the receiver. The receiver may determine, based on codingand modulation errors, the amount of interference on the channel. Thereceiver then sends a feedback frame back to the transmitter thatindicates whether the current interference is within the maximum allowedinterference.

Using the implicit approach, during a management frame exchange, thereceiver (e.g., RX1) knows which transmitter is not within its margin.RX1 may put this information into the management frame and transmit theframe to TX1. Based on this information, TX1 may only transmit if thecurrent energy level is not higher than the energy level of anytransmitter that RX1 records during the spatial reuse phase.

As an example of operation, reference is made to FIG. 3. If RX1 knowsthat TX3 does not fit in the interference margin, it may transmit themanagement frame to TX1 with the interference margin information. Hence,before TX1 transmits, it may look at its energy level and know if thetransmitters that are not within the interference margin may betransmitting. If other transmitters are complying with the interferencemargin of TX1, then the total interference to RX1 may be controlled.

The interference margin may be set such that the overall channelperformance may improve. Referring again to FIG. 3, iftransmitter/receiver pair TX1/RX1 301 announces an interference marginof 0, then the other transmitter/receiver pairs (e.g., TX2/RX2 302,TX3/RX3 303) may not transmit after TX1 and any benefits of spatialreuse is lost.

The benefits of using spatial reuse while determining and controllingthe interference may be illustrated as follows, with reference to theTX1/RX1 pair of FIG. 3.

Assuming that, without spatial reuse, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) isS and for the margin, M, the total interference is α*M (as describedpreviously) and the interference-to-noise ratio (INR) of totalinterference is I. Then after considering the margin, thesignal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) is S−I. Assuming that fmaps the SINR to the data rate, the data rate without announcing theinterference margin is f(S) and the data rate after announcing themargin is f(S/I).

With spatial reuse, the interference margin α*M implies that there areat least α TXs transmitting when TX1 starts the spatial reuse phase.This implies that TX1 may also transmit when these α TXs start thespatial reuse phase. Assuming that the transmission time of eachtransmitter/receiver pair 301-303 is roughly the same, this implies thatthe transmission time of TX1 may increase a times after spatial reuse.Hence, the total throughput before and after spatial reuse, when M>0,may have the following relationship to make sure that spatial reuse isbeneficial:

f(S)<α*f(S/I)

wherein f is a function that maps to a signal-to-interference-and-noiseratio of the channel to a data rate, S is the signal-to-noise ratio ofthe channel, and I=α*M is the potential interference-to-noise ratio ofthe channel.

The gain G of the spatial reuse phase may be further increased bydetermining the interference margin M through:

G*f(S)<α*f(S−I)

It can be seen that if a larger margin M is chosen, f(S−I) would besmaller making it harder to satisfy the equation. If a smaller margin Mis chosen, the protected region created by the RX may be relativelylarger, and there may not be enough transmitters outside the region forspatial reuse. Thus, one embodiment may choose the largest margin M thatsatisfies the equation. As a result, each transmitter/receiver pair mayhave G times improvement and the aggregate throughput may also increase.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for channelinterference estimation and control during spatial reuse of Wi-Fichannels. Each transmitter/receiver pair may estimate the channelinterference it causes to other transmitter/receiver pairs as well aschannel the interference caused from other transmitter/receiver pairs601 during the spatial reuse phase. Once the interference is known, theinterference margins for each of the transmitter/receiver pairs may beestimated and announced over the channel 603 in order to control theinterference during the spatial reuse phase. The interference margin maybe estimated based on the channel interference from othertransmitter/receiver pairs and to other transmitter/receiver pairs.

The transmitter/receiver pairs may then comply with the announcedmargins while communicating over the channel during the spatial reusephase in order to control the channel interference 605. Eachtransmitter/receiver pair may estimate if the next transmission will besuccessful based on the known margins 607. A frame may betransmitted/exchanged when the estimate is greater than a threshold. Theembodiment of FIG. 6, as well as other embodiments disclosed herein, maybe executed by the AP's and/or the wireless stations.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device900 (e.g., Wi-Fi device) within which a set or sequence of instructionsmay be executed to cause the device to perform any one of themethodologies discussed herein. In alternative embodiments, the deviceoperates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) toother devices. In a networked deployment, the device may operate in thecapacity of either a server or a client device in server-client networkenvironments, or it may act as a peer device in peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environments. The device may be a mobilecommunication device (e.g., cellular telephone), an AP, a computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a hybrid tablet, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), or any device capable of executing instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatdevice. Further, while only a single device is illustrated, the term“device” shall also be taken to include any collection of devices thatindividually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructionsto perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Similarly, the term “processor-based system” shall be taken to includeany set of one or more devices that are controlled by or operated by aprocessor (e.g., a computer) to individually or jointly executeinstructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein.

Example wireless station 700 includes at least one processor 702 (e.g.,a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) orboth, processor cores, compute nodes, etc.), a main memory 704 and astatic memory 706, which communicate with each other via a link 708(e.g., bus). The wireless station 700 may further include a display unit710 and an alphanumeric input device 712 (e.g., keyboard, keypad). Inone embodiment, the display unit 710 and input device 712 areincorporated into a touch screen display. The wireless station 700 mayadditionally include a storage device 716 (e.g., a drive unit), a signalgeneration device 718 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 720,and one or more sensors (not shown). Not all of these components areutilized in all devices. For example, an AP may not include a display710 or an input device 712.

The storage device 716 includes a computer-readable medium 722 on whichis stored one or more sets of data structures and instructions 724(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 724 mayalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory704, static memory 706, and/or within the processor 702 during executionthereof by the wireless station 700, with the main memory 704, staticmemory 706, and the processor 702 also constituting computer-readablemedia. Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination ofhardware, firmware, or software. Embodiments may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may beread and executed by at least one processor to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computer-readable storage device may include anynon-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by adevice (e.g., a computer).

While the computer-readable medium 722 is illustrated in an exampleembodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium”may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that storethe one or more instructions 724. The term “computer-readable medium”shall also be taken to include any tangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the deviceand that cause the device to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure or that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with suchinstructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall accordingly betaken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, andoptical and magnetic media. Specific examples of computer-readable mediainclude non-volatile memory, including but not limited to, by way ofexample, semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such asinternal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; andCD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

The instructions 724 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 726 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 720 utilizing any one of a number of well-knowntransfer protocols (e.g., HTTP). Examples of communication networksinclude a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), awireless local area network (WLAN), the Internet, mobile telephonenetworks, plain old telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., WiFi (IEEE 802.11), 3GPP, 4G LTE/LTE-A or WiMAXnetworks). The term “transmission medium” shall be taken to include anyintangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carryinginstructions for execution by the device, and includes digital or analogcommunications signals or other intangible medium to facilitatecommunication of such software. The network interface device may includeone or more antennas for communicating with the wireless network.

Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware,firmware, or software. Embodiments may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may beread and executed by at least one processor to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computer-readable storage device may include anynon-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by adevice (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storagedevice may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memorydevices, and other storage devices and media. In some embodiments, asystem may include one or more processors and may be configured withinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

Additional Notes and Examples

Example 1 is a wireless device including a processor and circuitry toestimate a first channel interference caused, during a spatial reusephase, by the wireless device to other wireless devices over a channel,to estimate a second channel interference experienced, during thespatial reuse phase, by the wireless device from the other wirelessdevices over the channel, to estimate an interference margin for thechannel based on the first and second channel interferences, to announcethe interference margin to the other wireless devices, and to complywith the interference margin while communicating over the channel.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally includewherein the wireless device is further configured to estimate if atransmission over the channel will be successful based on theinterference margin and to perform a frame exchange with a receiver whenthe estimate is greater than a threshold.

In Example 3, the subject matter of Examples 1-2 can optionally includewherein the wireless device is a transmitter and further comprising areceiver paired with the transmitter, wherein the transmitter is furtherconfigured to exchange frames with the receiver to estimate the firstand second channel interferences.

In Example 4, the subject matter of Examples 1-3 can optionally includewherein the transmitter is further configured to estimate the firstchannel interference in response to P_(TX)(RX_(E)/P_(RX)) where P_(TX)is an indication of a transmit power of the transmitter, RX_(E) is anindication of energy received by the transmitter from the receiver, andP_(RX) is an indication of a transmit power of the receiver.

In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 1-4 can optionally includewherein the transmitter is further configured to estimate the secondchannel interference by the receiver monitoring a received energyresulting from a transmitter transmission.

In Example 6, the subject matter of Examples 1-5 can optionally includewherein the transmitter is configured to estimate the interferencemargin for the channel in response to Max_M/α where Max_M is anindication of a maximum allowed interference margin for the channel anda is an indication of a maximum quantity of transmissions on thechannel.

In Example 7, the subject matter of Examples 1-6 can optionally includewherein the wireless device and a receiver are configured to exchangemanagement frames to estimate the first and second channelinterferences.

In Example 8, the subject matter of Examples 1-7 can optionally includewherein the wireless device is further configured to announce theinterference margin by transmitting a dedicated frame.

In Example 9, the subject matter of Examples 1-8 can optionally includewherein the wireless device is further configured to announce theinterference margin by embedding the interference margin into a framethat has a purpose other than explicitly announcing the interferencemargin.

In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 1-9 can optionally includewherein the wireless device is one of an access point (AP) or a wirelessstation (STA).

Example 11 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium thatstores instructions for execution by processing circuitry in determiningand controlling channel interference during a spatial reuse phase, theoperations to perform the channel interference determination andcontrol: estimate a first channel interference caused, during thespatial reuse phase, by a wireless device pair to other wireless devicepairs over a channel; estimate a second channel interferenceexperienced, during the spatial reuse phase, by the wireless device pairfrom the other wireless device pairs over the channel; estimate aninterference margin for the channel based on the first and secondchannel interferences; and announce the interference margin to the otherwireless device pairs.

In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 11 can optionally includewherein the operations further transmit the interference margin to theother wireless device pairs in one of a dedicated frame or embedded in aframe.

In Example 13, the subject matter of Examples 11-12 can optionallyinclude wherein the operations further define the interference margin tobe represented by M and determined by f(S)<α*f(S/I) where a is anindication of a maximum quantity of transmissions on the channel, f isan indication of the function that maps signal-to-interference and noiseratio of the channel to a data rate, S is an indication of asignal-to-noise ratio of the channel, I=α*M is an indication of apotential interference-to-noise ratio of the channel.

In Example 14, the subject matter of Examples 11-13 can optionallyinclude wherein the operations further increases a gain of the spatialreuse phase by determining interference margin M through G*f(S)<α*f(S/I)where G is an indication of a gain.

Example 15 is a method for channel interference estimation and controlduring spatial reuse of wireless channels, the method comprising:estimating a first channel interference caused, during the spatial reusephase, by a wireless device pair to other wireless device pairs over achannel; estimating a second channel interference experienced, duringthe spatial reuse phase, by the wireless device pair from the otherwireless device pairs over the channel; estimating an interferencemargin for the channel based on the first and second channelinterferences; and transmitting the interference margin in a frame tothe other wireless device pairs.

In Example 16, the subject matter of Example 15 can optionally includewherein estimating the first channel interference comprises the wirelessdevice pair exchanging management frames.

In Example 17, the subject matter of Examples 15-16 can optionallyinclude wherein estimating the second channel interference comprises thereceiver of the wireless device pair monitoring a received energy on thechannel resulting from transmissions from the other wireless devicepairs.

In Example 18, the subject matter of Examples 15-17 can optionallyinclude wherein estimating the interference margin in response to MaxMia where Max_M is an indication of a maximum allowed interferencemargin for the channel and a is a maximum quantity of transmissions onthe channel.

In Example 19, the subject matter of Examples 15-18 can optionallyinclude defining the interference margin M by f(S)<α*f(S/I) where a isan indication of a maximum quantity of transmissions on the channel, fis an indication of the function that maps signal-to-interference andnoise ratio of the channel to a data rate, S is an indication of asignal-to-noise ratio of the channel, I=α*M is an indication of apotential interference-to-noise ratio of the channel.

In Example 20, the subject matter of Examples 15-19 can optionallyinclude increasing a channel performance of the channel by determininginterference margin M through G*f(S)<α*f(S/I) where G is an indicationof a gain.

In Example 21, the subject matter of Examples 15-20 can optionallyinclude wherein the wireless device pairs comprise accesspoints/wireless stations, wireless stations/access points, and/orwireless stations/wireless stations.

In Example 22, the subject matter of Examples 15-21 can optionallyinclude wherein the wireless device complies with Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ax standard.

The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to ascertain the nature andgist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understandingthat it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning ofthe claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into thedetailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment.

1. (canceled)
 2. An apparatus of a station (STA) configured to operatein a wireless local area network (WLAN) that includes an access point(AP), the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry to decode awireless frame that includes an interference-management parameter thatis based on a predefined acceptable interference level for the WLAN andrepresents an interference-management condition; and processingcircuitry to initiate spatial reuse operation based on a frame exchangewith the AP, wherein the spatial reuse operation includes: determinationof whether a first frame to be transmitted by the STA at an intendedpower level during transmission of a second frame by a remote device,satisfies the interference-management condition; and initiation oftransmission by the STA of the first frame in a spatial-reuse mode ofoperation at the intended power level if the interference-managementcondition is satisfied.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:processing circuitry is to cause the STA to transmit the first framesuch that the entire first frame fits within an allocated time periodfor transmission of the second frame.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein in the spatial reuse operation, the processing circuitry toinitiate spatial reuse operation is to follow a backoff procedure priorto initiation of the transmission of the first frame, wherein thetransmission of the first frame is delayed.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the processing circuitry to initiate spatial reuse operation isto cause the STA to initiate the spatial reuse operation based furtheron a received power level of the second frame being currentlytransmitted by another device.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2, furthercomprising: a memory; and at least one radio.
 7. The apparatus of claim2, further comprising: at least one antenna.
 8. At least onenon-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions that,when executed on a processor of a wireless station (STA) configured tooperate in a wireless local area network (WLAN) that includes an accesspoint (AP), cause the STA to: decode a wireless frame that includes aninterference-management parameter that is based on a predefinedacceptable interference level for the WLAN and represents aninterference-management condition; and initiate spatial reuse operationbased on a frame exchange with the AP, wherein the spatial reuseoperation includes: determination of whether a first frame to betransmitted by the STA at an intended power level during transmission ofa second frame by a remote device, satisfies the interference-managementcondition; and initiation of transmission by the STA of the first framein a spatial-reuse mode of operation at the intended power level if theinterference-management condition is satisfied.
 9. The at least onenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 8, further comprisinginstructions to cause the STA to transmit the first frame such that theentire first frame fits within an allocated time period for transmissionof the second frame.
 10. The at least one non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions tocause the STA to follow a backoff procedure prior to initiation of thetransmission of the first frame, wherein the transmission of the firstframe is delayed.
 11. The at least one non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 8, wherein the instructions to cause the STA to initiatethe spatial reuse operation are to cause the STA to initiate the spatialreuse operation based further on a received power level of the secondframe being currently transmitted by another device.
 12. An apparatus ofan access point (AP) configured to operate in a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) that includes a non-AP station (STA), the apparatuscomprising: processing circuitry to determine an acceptable interferencelevel for the WLAN; processing circuitry to generate aninterference-management parameter that is based on the acceptableinterference level for the WLAN and represents aninterference-management condition to be satisfied by the STA for the STAto be permitted to transmit a spatial-reuse frame; and processingcircuitry to generate a wireless frame for transmission to the STA thatincludes the interference-management parameter.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 12, further comprising: processing circuitry to decode a wirelessframe received from the STA, wherein the wireless frame received fromthe STA was transmitted as part of a spatial-reuse mode of operationduring transmission of a second frame by a remote device.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 12, further comprising: receiver circuitry to receivea wireless frame from the STA in the presence of a transmission of asecond frame by a remote device, wherein the wireless frame from the STAwas transmitted during the transmission of the second frame by a remotedevice.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising: a memory; andat least one radio.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising:at least one antenna.
 17. A method for operating an access point (AP)configured in a wireless local area network (WLAN) that includes anon-AP station (STA), the method comprising: determining, by the AP, anacceptable interference level for the WLAN; generating, by the AP, aninterference-management parameter that is based on the acceptableinterference level for the WLAN and represents aninterference-management condition to be satisfied by the STA for the STAto be permitted to transmit a spatial-reuse frame; and generating, bythe AP, a wireless frame for transmission to the STA that includes theinterference-management parameter.
 18. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising: decoding a wireless frame received from the STA, wherein thewireless frame received from the STA was transmitted as part of aspatial-reuse mode of operation during transmission of a second frame bya remote device.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:receiving a wireless frame from the STA in the presence of atransmission of a second frame by a remote device, wherein the wirelessframe from the STA was transmitted during the transmission of the secondframe by a remote device.